Back catalogue: All genres

Review: There is no messing when it comes to the techno served up by Umwelt's essential Rave Or Die. Over the course of 14 previous EPs the label has dropped rib-rattling, brain boggling bangers aimed squarely at the floor. This time out the boss himself steps up with Ancient Methods with each providing one solo track. This one comes on limited 10" picture disc so is an extra special one to add to the collection Ancient Methods's 'Accept Light' is a harshly textured industrial banger and Umwelt's 'Shades of Security' is just as caustic and hard edged.

Review: Ascendant Berlin duo Blame The Mono return with their latest outing on French label Molekul titled 'Riot Toys'. There's no holds barred on this hard techno onslaught: the adrenalised energy of opening cut 'Gazellehorden' (feat HerrClem) fires up the engine in style, followed by the hyperaware energy of 'Switch The Pilot' and its jacked-up big-beat influence which also lunges straight for the jugular. Over on the flip, 'Funk Herald' will keep you tripping out under the strobelight, plus one more peak time banger to hammer the message home in the form of 'Bad Disco' which will keep the heads down on the dancefloor.

Review: The well regarded Umwelt introduced Raverbreakerz as a dynamic new series on his label Rave Or Die earlier in summer. This massive compilation shows what it is all about with four hard-hitting tracks from genre specialists Blame The Mono, Jadzia, Ghost In The Machine and Umwelt himself, Seamlessly blending techno, breakbeat and dark, intense sounds design to captivate and energise the floor in equal measure, each artists contributes to what is a versatile arsenal for DJs seeking powerful sounds with a distinct style. On this evidence, Raverbreakerz is going to be a crucial new series.

Review: Rave Or Die recently minted a new series called Raverbreakerz and now it squeezes out another one just in time for the silly season. Again featuring five electrifying tracks, this one is all about powerful rave, techno, breakbeat, and dark, doomy hard sounds crafted by skilled artists Mental Fear Productions brings some savage synth textures to 'Final Bastion', Tripped builds wall-rattling drum foundations on 'Spank' and Nite Fleit's 'Disillusion' is a writing blend of slamming kicks and tortured leads. Whether you're a seasoned raver or a newcomer, these bangers promise to ignite any set with musical menace.

Review: Beyond the visible spectrum, there lies infrared and UV, after which... well, we're not quite sure, because we're not photonics engineers! But it sure sounds as though French producer Umwelt (real name Frederic Poncet) has lifted the optic veil, and can only begin to relay it to us not by using his words, but in a next-best kind of speechless semiosis: hard trance. What sounds like an entire gamut and more is spanned on this relentless tunnel-borer of an EP, whose light-trailed front cover easily matches the record's breakneck trance mobility. 'Bodyhost' is like a future motorist-rhapsodist's madness, redlining the limiter with no relent. 'Holographic Existence', meanwhile, is an incredible, drumless monsoon, and an impending modern classic for trance DJs, going heavy on the G-force SFX and tactile synthesis to produce a terrific transcendence of the speed limit, even without the kick of the drum.

Review: A quick piping of ultrafast space-techno comes as a six-track aural electro-techno drip, courtesy of Berlin's Mechatronica Music. The second in their 'Constellations' series of V/A EPs, this is an exodic exultation, charting top farings from the likes of Umwelt, Ben Pest and Viikatory. Umwelt's opening charge 'Stellar Oscillations' is a warpsped drive back to the retrofuture, with punctured stabs and fractal chord efferents propelling a lengthy trance crissing 'cross the milky way. Pest's 'Shodan' takes a detour, recharging at an interstellar traction substation specialising in sputtery, kilowatted electro. And 'Be Scared Of Clowns' is the titular highlight by Prz & Ori bringing a different spaceship to the same docking bay; it is the comparative Borg cube to the A3's Romulan craft, lessening any residual humanity for a shocking laserdesign B cut.

Review: This compilation marks a decade of relentless techno energy, celebrating the underground legacy of Lanna Club with four powerhouse producers. This isn't just a compilationiit's a snapshot to a decade of raw, uncompromising sound. Umwelt kicks things off with 'Alchemy', an intense, hard-hitting track where pounding beats merge with traces of trance, electroclash and EBM. It's a high-energy, mind-bending opener that sets the tone for the record's deep journey ahead. Silex92's 'Blades & Pillows' follows with a slower, yet equally heavy approachiits trudging rhythm and sci-fi-infused melodies create an ominous and hypnotic atmosphere. On Side-2, Ancient Methods delivers 'The Clock Hands' Endless Mantra', a percussive, looping techno storm laced with tribal and alien textures. It's the kind of track that transforms a dancefloor into a ritualistic experience. Phase Fatale closes things out with 'Corporate Graft', a showcase of strong production and dystopian energy, where industrial undertones meet body-shaking rhythms. What you get is, four powerful examples of current style in techno.